UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

On campus or off? The debate over housing

Share This:

Students were divided about whether living on campus or off was better. 

An apartment at Campus View Suites can run up to $1400 a semester for a shared room, and $2000 for a single, said Zach Horlacher, a senior criminal justice major from Mesquite. He said cost is the biggest issue when deciding where to live.

However, Elese Clayton, an exercise science major from American Fork, said her husband found an apartment ten minutes from the campus for only $1200 a semester. 

“It is great living off campus because it helps me focus more on my homework and get away from the drama that happens; also, it is nice being able to choose your roommate and not have to worry about that,” Clayton said.

Horlacher had his own reasons for preferring to live on campus, he said.

“I rarely drive my car, and I can walk pretty much anywhere because campus is so small Horlacher said. It’s really hard to be late to class.” 

He said a small campus can help him be more fit and social, but it has its drawbacks.

“The worst part is that sometimes it is hard to get away from a lot of the noise because student housing is so packed, and it feels like there is always someone trying to disturb you,” Horlacher said.

Living away does have its problems as well, Clayton said.

“We would probably be more encouraged to get out more if we lived next to people closer to our age and demographic, instead of in a neighborhood full of families,” said Clayton.

Another aspect aside from the cost and the close neighbors, is the social life, Horlacher said.

“It’s easy to make friends on campus because because you are always surrounded by people, and it just forces you to get familiar with the people you tend to see around,” Horlacher said. He said he was impressed with all of the activities on campus, especially the “Wednes-D” activities.

Some students cannot decide if the benefits of living on campus outweigh the cons, such as Elise Cole, a sophomore nursing major from Salt Lake. She has spent two years at Dixie State University and will be transferring to Utah Valley University. 

“I’ve lived with my parents while here at Dixie, and I don’t think I want to live on campus,” Cole said. “I like not mixing my social life with my academic one, and I really enjoyed not having a roommate. I don’t feel I could really be comfortable being on campus all the time, and think that you have to take a break to not get sucked into the school and all of it’s issues.”